Heat Capacity

[Aren_Kasparian_1G]

Is there a difference between specific heat capacity and molar heat capacity, or are they interchangeable in problems?

[Anjali Botcha 3B]

I'm pretty sure specific heat capacity refers to the heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance, whereas molar heat capacity refers to the heat required to raise the temperature of one mole of a substance.

[Kaitlin Eblen 1I]

Just to add context to what Anjali said, we use specific heat capacity (c) in the heat energy equation Q = mc∆t. This makes sense considering our units (mass is in grams). Also here is a helpful graphic that explains specific heat capacity and molar heat capacity's relationship to each other. It is based on the fact that:
(number of moles) x (mass of one mole) = mass of substance

So they are not perfectly interchangeable but there is some relationship, at least in the heat equation (which is what we have dealt with so far in this class).

[805401611]

Specific heat capacity is the measure of the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of 1 gram of the substance by one degree (kelvin or celsius). Molar heat capacity is the measure of the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of 1 mole of the substance by one degree (kelvin or celsius). These two terms are not interchangeable in problems, as specific heat capacity is dealing with 1 gram of the substance while molar heat capacity is dealing with 1 mole of the substance. Hope that helps!

[Grace_Wu]

Hi! They are calculating for the different units. Molar heat capacity is the amount of heat required to raise one mole of substance by one degree Kelvin, while the specific heat capacity is the amount of heat required to raise one grain of substance by one degree kelvin.

[Emmaplant1c]

Hi! They are calculating for the different units. Molar heat capacity is the amount of heat required to raise one mole of substance by one degree Kelvin, while the specific heat capacity is the amount of heat required to raise one grain of substance by one degree kelvin.

This was a super helpful way to differentiate!

[Harrison Lin 2J]

Everyone above did a great job explaining your question, but I think one important thing to note is that when we are dealing with heat capacity, we don't need to write the temperature in terms of Kelvin. Often times, the Delta T value is given in degrees Celcius as well. Although it seems self-explanatory, a lot of people don't think about it, but the Delta T value will be the same regardless if it is in Kelvin or Celcius.

For example:
100 degrees Celcius - 0 degrees Celcius = 100 degrees Ceclius
373 Kelvin - 273 Kelvin = 100 K

Just something to keep in mind to avoid extra steps and make your work neater!